3rd bolt in tow hitch install?? hoooowww!!

[Jc12]

Hey guys, i installed the hitch damn well knowing i would eventually have to come back and put the 3rd bolt in since i will be towing a small boat now..instead of bike rack. so anyway my question is how do you drop that 3rd bolt into the deepest hole along the frame rail.. the other two bolts you see were the factory ones that were already in the frame, they didnt require a nut. can i just get a 3rd one of those bolts and put it in? or will i need to use the ones that came with the hitch itself.

 

[Jc12]

** i kind of forgot to mention.. so i am trying to get the bolt into the furthest hole to the left in the photo, the frame is hollow so would i have to put the bolt in there and push it down with a stick and try and drop it in the hole? haha thanks

 

[Brutus]

I think the stick method was how my buddy and I did mine. I never thought he would get it to the hole but he was persistent and got it in there. It can be done.

Keep at it!

 

[SnowRambler]

The rear bolts that came with my Hide-a-Hitch had a thin wire coiled around the bolt with a 10" straightened section of wire, so you could insert the bolt in the frame, thread the nut then pull the wire out. Maybe even a coat hanger with one coil around the bolt would work. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Socco]

Hey guys, i installed the hitch damn well knowing i would eventually have to come back and put the 3rd bolt in since i will be towing a small boat now..instead of bike rack. so anyway my question is how do you drop that 3rd bolt into the deepest hole along the frame rail.. the other two bolts you see were the factory ones that were already in the frame, they didnt require a nut. can i just get a 3rd one of those bolts and put it in? or will i need to use the ones that came with the hitch itself.

HA! Hi Jeff,

I thought that hitch looked familiar. The two outer bolt holes require the nut plates and bolts that I left screwed loosely on the hitch for you. Take one of the the nut plates and slide it in the frame until the holes line up. Then gently screw the bolt in from underneath. You can use a stick and hold the plate in place if need be.

 

[Jc12]

HAHA socco omg what are the chances.. okay so i can just put the bolt in and not screw on the nut that came attached.. it will thread into the frame? because it just slides loosely into the plate.. thanks

 

[Socco]

HAHA socco omg what are the chances.. okay so i can just put the bolt in and not screw on the nut that came attached.. it will thread into the frame? because it just slides loosely into the plate.. thanks

The bolts that were on your frame stay in the middle. They are a different size than the ones that came with the hitch. The bolt/plates are for the outer holes. The bolt passes thru the hitch, then the frame rail and threads into the plate. When you tighten the bolt, the plate gets sucked down to the frame and the frame gets sandwiched between the plate and the hitch. Then torque them all down to guddentite.

 

[Diagram14]

I have a claw pick-up tool similar to this one for all my tight reach purposes. Mostly it gets used for putting and pulling spark plugs because I dont have a SP socket but if I was doing what youre doing now (the way youre talking about doing it) I would use it too.

 

[01Green]

If this hitch mounts the same as the "Curt hitch" that I just installed you need to use the nut plates for the rear and the front bolts...the middle bolts thread into the frame rail. they are 12 mm X 1.5"

 

[Kung]

If the frame is hollow (it was at that point on my F150) you might just use one REALLY freakin' long extension on a ratchet. That's what I did; took me about a minute or two to match everything up.